If Tears Could Bring You Back
by Princess Star Neko
Summary: [Legend of Mana fanfic] What was going through Elazul's mind when Crystal, The Heroine, turned to stone after shedding tear's for the fallen Jumi race? [4 part Oneshot]
1. Crystal's POV

**_Disclaimers:_** As much as I may _want_ to claim ownership of this production, I can't because **_Legend of Mana_** belongs to a whole lot of different companies that I can't remember the names of at the moment. Any characters that appear in this fic that is not a part of the original series, belong to me so don't take them without asking first.

**_Summary:_** -**_Legend of Mana fanfic_**- What was going through Elazul's mind when Crystal, The Heroine, turned to stone after shedding tear's for the fallen Jumi race?

_"I read somewhere  
that when Jumi cry  
the **entire** world cries with them..."  
**-Lisa talking to Bud -Legend of Mana - The Teardrop Crystal Saga-**_

**_If Tears Could Bring You Back_**  
One Shot - Crystal's POV  
By: Princess Star Neko

_**-Crystal's POV-**_

'_I can't **believe** that it's **finally** over,_' I thought to myself as I looked around the throne room, seeing the sad expressions on Elazul and Florina's faces now that the battle against their enemies was finally over, as a sad look appeared on her features as she looked around the room at the others, '_But the **price** that was paid..._'

All those lives lost, and all because of what? A greedy man who sought the Jumi cores for his own selfish reasons, even if it meant killing the people who carried them, and Cassandra, a Jumi who betrayed her own kind to help him do it, just to save Florina from having to die from shedding tears in order to save their people.

'_Even in the end, Alex had resorted to removing her own core from her body and gave it to Lord of Jewels 999,_' Crystal thought angrily to herself as she reached over with a closed fist to rub at her tearing eyes, blinking them for a moment as she looked at what was left of Lord of Jewels 1,000's dead body, '_so that he could have more power in order to defeat Elazul and me by transforming into Lord of Jewels 1,000._'

Lord of Jewels 999's powers were already being fueled by all of the Jumi cores he had consumed over the years, with the latest one belonging to Pearl, who Elazul and Crystal had left behind in a hidden location what they had hoped would keep her safe while they were gone, but Alexandra had managed to get to the Jumi girl and taken her core and handed it over to Lord of Jewels.

When it had started to look like they were losing the battle against Elazul and Crystal, Alexandra had offered up her own core to Lord of Jewels 999 to make him stronger and by absorbing the offered core, he became Lord of Jewels 1,000 and had transformed into a gigantic monster and had become nearly unstoppable for Elazul and Crystal to beat.

After Lord of Jewels sudden transformation after receiving Alex's core, both Elazul and Crystal had a much tougher time trying to beat the jewel hunter, hitting him with both physical and magical attacks as soon as they could get a shot in, while getting pummeled by Lord of Jewel's own attacks. It wasn't until a well placed Flare spell from Crystal to Lord of Jewels already weakened body, that they were finally able to kill the tyrant.

As I watched as Elazul talk with Florina, even now, I still can't figure out _why_ I wanted to help the Jumi to begin with. How did helping a complete stranger search for his lost friend, wind up becoming something else entirely, when I wound up meeting up with them time after time, and helping them when they needed it? And now it was to end this way with what could be the last _two_ Jumi left in the whole world?

Florina probably could bring back some of the Jumi with her healing tears, but it wouldn't be enough to bring all of them back. If anything, the effort probably would completely drain her of all her energy and kill her if she tried to bring back so many of the Jumi that had been killed by Alexandra and Lord of Jewels.

'_Esmeraldis..._'

'_Ruebens..._'

'_Diana..._'

Even though I had only know the three of them for such a short time, it just seemed to feel like I'd known all of them my entire life, and it hurt more than it did then when I had to watch all of them die at Alexandra's hands and I was unable to do anything to stop her.

As I leaned against the wall, I reached up with a tired hand to push back a stray lock of hair, as I watched Florina try to comfort Elazul, who was now depressed over Pearl's loss. Even from where I was standing, I could hear him mumbling that he should have stayed with Pearl to protect her from Alexandra.

'_Pearl..._'

An image of the blonde girl instantly came to my mind, as I thought back to the first time I met both her and Elazul, and how much of a conceited jerk Elazul had been the first time we met. But I had soon found out that his attitude had been caused because he had been worried about Pearl's safety at the time, and how he had opened up after awhile, and I now considered the two Jumi two of my best friends in the whole world.

'_It's **not** fair..._' I thought to myself, as I stared on as Elazul and Florina talked amongst themselves for a few moments, seemingly forgetting about my presence in the room, and sigh as I lean my back against a wall as I watched them talk. '_It's not fair that it **had** to end this way..._'

I could start to feel my eyes begin to blur with the tears that were now threatening to fall, and I quickly reached up to rub at my eyes with the back of my sleeve.

'_Oh **great**, just what I **don't** need right now. Tears..._' I thought as I looked down at my wet sleeve in surprise, sniffling a bit as I felt more tears start to flow down my face, '_Just great..._'

I don't know what had first alerted them to what was happening, but I suddenly heard both Elazul and Florina cry out in alarm, and I look up to see Elazul running towards me with a panicked look on his face.

"_CRYSTAL! **DON'T** CRY! YOU'LL TURN TO STONE IF YOU CRY FOR US!_" I heard him exclaim, just as the first tear started to fall and my world seemed to explode with pure white energy.

As the light grew brighter I cold feel a slight chill that seemed to spread throughout my body, starting at my feet and moving upwards as I felt my body begin to stiffen up as the petrifaction began, and I knew that this would be the end.

'_I'm sorry Elazul, I can't help it,_' I thought sadly as I gave the Lazuli knight one last smile, as my vision, started to fade as the light continued to envelop me, '_at this point, I don't care if I turn to stone._'

'_It'd would **almost** even be worth it,_' Were Crystal's last thoughts as her world was quickly filled with darkness, as the petrifaction process reached it's end, '_if **my** tears were able to bring them **all** back..._'

And then she knew no more.

**_-End Crystal's POV-_**


	2. Elazul's POV

**_Disclaimers:_** As much as I may _want_ to claim ownership of this production, I can't because **_Legend of Mana_** belongs to a whole lot of different companies that I can't remember the names of at the moment. Any characters that appear in this fic that is not a part of the original series, belong to me so don't take them without asking first.

**_Summary:_** -**_Legend of Mana fanfic_**- What was going through Elazul's mind when Crystal, The Heroine, turned to stone after shedding tear's for the fallen Jumi race?

_"I read somewhere  
that when Jumi cry  
the **entire** world cries with them..."  
**-Lisa talking to Bud -Legend of Mana - The Teardrop Crystal Saga-**_

**_If Tears Could Bring You Back_**  
One Shot - Elazul's POV  
By: Princess Star Neko

**_-Elazul's POV-_**

"_CRYSTAL! **DON'T** CRY! YOU'LL TURN TO STONE IF YOU CRY FOR US!_" I shouted as I rushed forward to try, if I could, and stop the tears before it was too late, as I watch as small droplets of water started to fall from her face.

I ___should_ have realized what was about to happen, but I was too caught up in my own grief at Pearl's lost, that I ___hadn't_ even ___noticed_ Crystal starting to cry until the last moment. If I had only been paying attention to her, this wouldn't be happening.

"Please, not here! Not now!" I exclaimed, my voice coming out in just barely a whisper, as I broke into a run towards Crystal, "I don't want to lose ___her_ too..."

'_Where did **that** thought come from?_' I thought, as I suddenly came to a stop for a brief second as I realized what I had just said, as I mentally shook myself when I realized what I had just said. '_I don't feel that way for her..._'

But then I realized that I ___truly_ didn't want to lose Crystal. Not ___this_ way!

Somehow this mere human had unknowingly warmed her way into my heart in more ways than one, that until now, just the thought of losing her made my heart hurt just as much as the thought of losing Pearl always did.

But even before I reached her I could see the sparkle of a few of her tears fall towards the floor, and I knew then that I was too late, as the room was bathed in blinding white light. Even as I watched, I saw her turn towards me one last time to smile at me in that way that I had to grown to love so much.

'_Love? What am I thinking about? I don't love her._' I thought as I realized where my train of thought had gone, and my eyes widen in shock, '_I can't! She's not one of us. She doesn't belong among us. I..._'

Looking towards Crystal and seeing the tears continuing to fall down her cheeks, he broke into a run, as he tried to reach her in time, but even as he ran he already knew it would be too late.

'_Damn, who am I kidding!_' Elazul though as he ran towards Crystal, he realized that he wasn't going to be able to stop the petrifaction from happening, as Crystal's body started to glow as more tears fell, '_I... I... care about her. I..._'

I remembered the first time I saw her in Domina, when I was picking on that fairy girl, Rachel, in my search for answers to my questions about Pearl's whereabouts. How she had stuck up for the little fairy girl, and not backing down when I tried to intimidate her. And how she then proceeded to chew me out for bullying a defenseless little girl like Rachel.

At the time, I don't even know ___why_ I did it, but now I'm ___glad_ I did, or else I probably would have never met her. There was just something about her that constantly drew me to her, despite my resolve to stay away and ___not_ involve her in my problems. But for some reason she was ___always_ the ___first_ person that I ___always_ thought of to go to when I was in a jam and needed help.

Even after I had warned her repeatedly during our journey's together that it wouldn't be safe to be around us, because there were people like Alexandra who hunted us for our cores. But she simply laughed at the warning.

I know it probably didn't help that I was the one who always came to her for help, she would ___always_ instantly jumped at the chance to help me in my search for Pearl, especially after Pearl first transformed into Black Pearl.

* * *

**_-Flashback-_**

Crystal sat in front a fire somewhere in the middle of Lunon Highway, as she waited for the skinned Rabbite carcasses to finish roasting. Elazul was out in the woods gathering more firewood to use in building up the fire later on.

The duo were traveling together on another search, and ___possibly_ rescue, mission of Elazul's charge, Pearl, a shy, timid young Jumi girl who was a Guardian and under Elazul's protection, who also had the bad habit of getting lost easily and unintentionally getting herself into trouble.

Recently Pearl had gone through a transformation into a Jumi Knight named Black Pearl thanks to a Jewel Hunter named Alexandra who had also injured Elazul's core in the fight before running off while Crystal tried to help Elazul.

To everyone's relief, the damage to his core ___hadn't_ been enough to kill him, but it ___had_ left him bedridden for a few days with Crystal and the twins taking care of him, while Black Pearl took off on her own going after Alexandra.

After spending a few days recovering at Crystal's house from his encounter with Alexandra, Elazul was going crazy over where Pearl/Black Pearl could have gone after leaving him behind after her reawakening, and had once again enlisted Crystal's help in finding her.

Crystal was tending to the fire, poking at the burning pieces of wood with another stick while blowing the extra smoke away from her with a fan she'd brought along, when Elazul came walking into the campsite with his arms filled with twigs and branches.

"I wonder where Pearl could be," Elazul said as he came back into the camp with his armload of wood and dropped the pile a few feet away from the fire, and walked over to where Crystal was and sat down next to her, "If anything's happened to her, I'll make whoever's responsible pay..."

"She'll be ___fine_, Elazul. I'm sure that she'll be fine without us." Crystal said, as she turned towards the Lazuli Knight with a mischievous smile as she took some of the wood from the ground and tossed it onto the fire, "Ever since she turned into Black Pearl she's not as helpless as she once was before, you know."

"___That's_ what I'm ___worried_ about! Now that she's started becoming ___Black Pearl_, there's no telling what she could be doing right now." Elazul exclaimed as he dumped the rest of the wood into the fire, and started pacing around the fire, "If they switch places again, Pearl will be in danger from the Core Hunter or whatever dangers Black Pearl might have put them in."

"Don't be such a worrywart, Elazul. From what I saw of her, Black Pearl can take care of herself." Crystal said with a small smile as she patted the Lazuli Knight on shoulder, as he dumped the wood into the burning fire, "No matter ___what_ happens, you'll ___still_ have me at your side to help you. I'm not scared about any core hunters."

"Be as it may, it's ___still_ too ___dangerous_ for you to help us." Elazul said as he glanced over at Crystal for a moment before walking over to their packs and pulled out a flask of water, then walked back over to sit next to Crystal, removing the cork from the flask and started to raise it to is lips, "What if you cried for us for some reason? You'll turn into ___stone_ and will be ___dead_!"

"Aw... I ___didn't_ think you ___cared_ so much about me, Elazul," She said with a mischievous smile, and leaned in closer to him to whisper in his ear seductively, just as he was taking a drink from the water flask, "If you're ___really_ worried about you're own safety, I'll protect ___you_ from the big bad monsters, Elazul."

The Lazuli Knight choked on his drink and started coughing, causing a laugh to escape from Crystal's lips, while she helpfully pounded him behind his back.

"Very funny!" Elazul finally wheezed out as he turned to glare at Crystal who was still giggling a bit, as she smiled right back at him.

"Thanks," Crystal said, as a mischievous grin appeared on her face as she stared at Elazul, "I thought it was too."

Elazul simply huffed a bit as he turned his back on Crystal and took another drink from the water flask, and kept silent for a few minutes.

"Oh come on, Elazul! You need to lighten up once in awhile," Crystal exclaimed, worry filling her voice as she reached over to gently touch his shoulder, "Don't take it so seriously. You're too serious all the time."

"___Can't_ I show you that I'm ___worried_ about you without you ___teasing_ me all the time?" Elazul snapped without turning back to face her, his shoulders hunched a bit when she touched him, before finally turning back around to face her, "You ___know_ I'm right about the dangers, yet your ___always_ making light of it, instead of taking it seriously like you ___should_ be doing."

"Fine be that way," Crystal said with a huff as she stood up and walked over to the fire to examine the roasting meat, "The meat has to be done by now."

Walking over to where there packs were, she reached into her pack and pulled out two long strips of cloths, which she wrapped around both of her hands to make some mitts before walking back to the fire.

Reaching out to one side of the fire, she grabbed the iron bar that was attached to the spit, which was holding the meat over the fire, lose and dragged it away from the flames.

Using a knife she pulled from her belt, she stood off to one side of the cook spit over to the roasted meat and carefully cut off a piece of the meat to check it and saw that it was now fully cooked, "Dinner's ready, Elazul."

"Crystal?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been meaning to ask to ask you this for awhile now," Elazul said, as he stared into the girl's eyes and saw that he now had her full attention on him, "And I hope you don't take it the wrong way..."

"What did you want to ask me?" Crystal asked, cocking her head to one side in curiosity as she waited patiently for the Lazuli Knight to continue.

"Why are you so eager to help us?" Elazul asked, "Despite all my warnings about the danger to yourself if you help us, you still insisted on doing so."

"What do you mean? Why shouldn't I help you? It's the right thing to do." Crystal said with a slight shrug of her shoulders, as she grinned broadly at him, her eyes shining mischievously from under the loose strands of hair covering her face, as she poked at the fire with a stick, "I would do it for any of my friends who asked for help."

"___Friends_?" Elazul asked, his voice sounding incredulous as he stared into her dark blue eyes, "You ___actually_ consider ___me_ to be your ___friend_?"

"Yes friends!" Crystal exclaimed, as she slightly smacked his shoulder with an open palm, as she gave him a fake hurt pout as she stared back at him, "You mean to tell me, that after ___all_ this time you really haven't started to think of ___me_ as a friend?"

"Of ___course_ I do... ___now_." Elazul said sheepishly, as he rubbed his sore arm, before turning his gaze away from Crystal to look directly at the fire for a few moments, "It's ___just_ that I'm ___still_ getting ___used_ to the idea of..."

"Of a non-Jumi being actually helping you without having an ulterior motive?" Crystal asked, as she turned back to the fire, giving him a sideways glance out of the corner of her eyes.

"Well...um..." Elazul stuttered, as a slight blush crept up his cheek as he stared back at her.

"Come on Elazul! How ___long_ have you ___known_ me? Have I ever asked anything more from either you or Pearl during the ___entire_ time we've known each other?" Crystal said reassuringly, as she turned back to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "What those Jumi hunters are doing is wrong. You're living beings, not animals. I won't let you guys get hurt if I can help it."

"A lot of ___your_ kind would have ___runaway_," Elazul insisted, he turned his gaze away to turn his attention to his dinner, taking a bite out of it and swallowing after a few seconds, before finally continuing, "once they found out what would happen if they cry for us, ___or_ they'd try to kill us simply to get our cores."

"But ___why_?" Elazul insisted, irritation filling his voice as he stared intently at Crystal, "___Nobody_ outside of our own kind has ___cared_ about the Jumi's fate, unless they wanted something in return. But ___you're_ different from the others..."

"I don't know why actually. To be honest," Crystal said after taking a moment to think about it, as she bent her head back to look up at the darkening sky, "When I ___first_ met you, I thought you were nothing more than a big ___bully_ taking out his anger on a defenseless little fairy girl..."

"___Hey_, I ___apologized_ for ___that_ already!" Elazul exclaimed in irritation, the tone in his voice sounding defensive as he glared over at Crystal, "___When_ are you going to let that go?"

"Chill out, will you?" Crystal demanded as she waved a hand dismissively at the Jumi Knight, as she set her food back on the rack, and turned back around to face him once more with a serious look on her face, "Let me finish, Elazul, so no more interruptions!"

Frowning a bit as he stared at Crystal, Elazul sat back with his arms folded across his chest as he waited for her to continue.

"When you ___first_ came to me asking for help after our first encounter," Crystal admitted as a sheepish look appeared on her face as she met Elazul's gaze, as a small blush crept up to her cheeks at the memory, "I was ___almost_ tempted to ___completely_ ignore you and let you deal with it by yourself."

"If you already felt that way about me," Elazul said interrupting her once more, as surprise could be heard in his voice as he glanced over at Crystal, "then why didn't you let me deal with it by myself?"

"It easy, I saw the panic in your eyes even though you tried to hide it behind your tough act," Crystal said as she glanced back at Elazul for a moment before she adverted her eyes from him, "I could see how worried you were about Pearl."

"___Hey!_ I was ___not_ panicked! I was just simply ___worried_ about Pearl, you ___know_ how she is when she's left on her own," Elazul exclaimed indignantly, as irritation once more filling his voice as he glowered at his companion, before curiosity got the better of him, "What does my being ___panicked_ have to do with anything anyways?"

"If you were ___really_ as bad as you made yourself seem, you wouldn't that made me decide to help you search for her." Crystal said with a slight smirk appearing on her face as she met his gaze for a few seconds, "You ___truly_ needed help, and I was more than willing to help once I heard all of the details of what was wrong."

"You put yourself in more danger by helping us, not just from our enemies," Elazul said with a huff as he crossed his arms across his chest as he scowled a bit, "but what if something happened to cause you to cry over us?"

"Well you didn't have to ___keep_ coming to my aid ___every_ time I asked for help." Elazul said, as he settled back in his spot after tossing away what was left of his meal, and turned his full gaze back on Crystal, "I ___still_ can't figure out ___why_ you did though."

"Whether you want to believe it or not, but I'm actually ___glad_ that you ___kept_ coming back to ___me_ for help," Crystal said as she grinned towards Elazul, "___despite_ all of ___your_ warnings to the danger, you ___still_ trusted me enough to want to keep coming back for help.."

"Maybe it's just because you guys simply just ___forgot_ to know ___how_ to cry," Crystal said insistently as she shook her head at him, her eyes narrowed in concentration for a moment as she thought on their situation, "that you started relying on Guardians tears to revive you and Knights to protect the Guardians from harm."

"Jumi's tears are supposed to heal Jumi cores, and even bring them back from the dead," Elazul said as he sat back on his spot to look at the flickering fire for a moment, "if all that's left is their cores. It's the Clarius' duty to shed tears to bring the fallen Jumi back."

"No wonder Alexandra seems so intent on killing as many of you as she could to protect just one person..." Crystal muttered under her breath as she looked away from Elazul and stared into the fire in silence.

"What's ___that_ supposed to mean?" Elazul demanded, feeling his hair rise up a bit at Crystal's words, as he stared at her with an incredulous look on his features as he stared intently at Crystal with a disbelieving look in his eyes, "___Don't_ tell me that you are ___actually_ starting to ___agree_ with Alexandra after ___everything_ she's done!"

"I'm ___not_ agreeing with her. What she's done is wrong, and I hope that she will be punished for it when the time comes," Crystal said, as she kept her eyes on the fire, "But, tell me what you would do if you were in Alexandra's place, Elazul?"

"What do you mean?" Elazul asked, his head cocked to one side in confusion as he stared at Crystal in confusion.

"What if it was someone that ___you_ cared about? What if it was ___Pearl_," Crystal said as she tossed the stick into the fire and turned her gaze back on Elazul and stared him directly in the eyes with a serious look on her face, "who you had to watch get weaker ___everyday_, as she continued to do her ___duty_ as Clarius to shed tears for your people?"

Elazul's eyes widened in shock as he realized where this conversation was leading up to, and started to open his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when Crystal raised a hand to silence him.

"If you ___truly_ cared for her, would you stand by and continue to do nothing to help her, knowing that she could die any day if she ___continued_ shedding tears for the Jumi, even though her tears helped heal everyone?" Crystal said as she as her eyes turned back to the fire, as she picked up another stick to poke at the burning wood, "Or would you be willing to do ___anything_ in your power to stop her death from happening no matter what the cost would be to everyone else?"

"That's ___different_! Even ___if_ I ___wanted_ to do something like ___that_, I ___wouldn't_ have done what Alex did!" Elazul exclaimed, as first confusion, then anger filled his voice as he realized exactly what it was Crystal was getting at, "___She_ sided with the Hunters, taking her own peoples Cores and ___dooming_ the rest of us because of her betrayal and selfishness!"

"That's probably exactly how Alexandra felt too, she felt duty bound to abide by your laws," Crystal said in a quiet voice, as she continued to stare intently, "but in the end couldn't take having to watch the one she cared about suffer, even what she was doing was helping others."

"The Jumi ___sealed_ away your healing tears because of all the dangers your people have to face, yet when you ___really_ need those tears," Crystal said in a saddened voice as she shook her head ruefully, as she met Elazul's gaze once more, "___none_ of you summon them forth to save yourselves from being ___completely_ wiped out, when you need them now more than ever, ___especially_ if it looks like the only one who ___could_ cry ___might_ be among the victims who's cores were taken by hunters."

"You make it ___sound_ like it's a ___bad_ thing," Elazul muttered sarcastically under his breath as he glowered at Crystal for a moment, before his gaze softened a bit, "The Jumi were doing ___fine_ so far with just a few chosen Clarius to shed tears for the past couple of ___centuries_, until the attacks grew out of control."

"I don't want to see you guys die, Elazul," Crystal said as a note of sadness filled her voice as she stared at Elazul, as she rested a hand on the Jumi's on her hand, "I want to do everything I can to prevent that from happening if I can. If I thought ___my_ tears would work, I'd try it in an instant."

"You think it's that easy? We've tried for centuries, and only a ___select_ few of our kind have regained the ability to cry and became a Clarius," Elazul demanded as he glared at Crystal for a few moments before turning his back around to face the fire once more, "The ___few_ Clarius that we ___did_ have before the attacks even began were already had their cores taken..."

"Pretty soon, there's ___not_ going to be that ___many_ of you guys left," Crystal said helpfully as she reached for the water flask at her belt, pulled out the stopper and took a sip from it, before corking it again, "unless ___more_ of you ___regain_ the ability to cry. Maybe you just need ___something_ to set it off."

"It'd have to be a ___miracle_ if something like that were to ever happen," Elazul said dismissively, as he returned his gaze to the fire, "Nothing's ___ever_ worked in centuries to release our tears. If it ___did_ happen, it would probably already be too late to save everyone else."

"You Jumi's have been around for a long time to have to go down like this, Elazul." Crystal said in a serious voice as her gaze, turned steely for a moment as she leaned back in her spot to gaze up at the night sky for a moment, "So in case something were to ever happen to me, would you promise me something?"

"Promise you what?" Elazul asked as he turned his gaze back towards Crystal, cocking his head to one side as he waited for her answer.

"___Feel_ something other than your pent up anger, or ___whatever_ it is that's keeping your tears locked up," Crystal said as a serious expression appeared on her face as she stared back at Elazul's startled expression, as she gave him a sad little smile before turning away from him once more, "___Try_ and be sad enough to ___make_ the tears come out. ___Force_ yourself to cry if you have to, or else there won't be anything left of your people..."

"Hey you know I can't make a promise like that!" Elazul exclaimed as soon as he got over his shock at her request, as he stared at her with an incredulous look on his features, "We ___both_ know that it's ___never_ going to happen, so what's the point of me making such a promise?"

"Well, who knows?" Crystal said with a slight shrug of her shoulders as she smirked at the Jumi Knight, "Stranger things ___can_ happen you know."

**_-End Flashback-_**

* * *

I covered my eyes as the room was filled with blinding white light, forcing me back as the entire room was filled with the shine from Crystal's tears, as fear and dread filled my heart as I realized what I was going to see when the light was gone.

'_Crystal..._' I thought angrily to myself as the lightshow seemed to dim down a notch a few seconds later, '_Goddess, I don't want to lose her. Not after everything that we've all gone through since we've been together,_' I thought, not noticing an unfamiliar wetness starting to trickle down my face as the light started to dim down.

'_It's not fair._' I thought as the light died down, I suddenly could hear voices all around me, some familiar, while others I could barely make out, but I didn't pay attention to any of them, as I kept my eyes on the now frozen stone figure that stood across the room, as I made my way towards her, '_After **everything** we've gone through together, it has to end this way?_'

* * *

**_-Flashback-_**

Elazul was walking up the dirt path that led to Crystal's home, looking around nervously as he finally reached the front door of the tree shaped house.

'_Why do I keep coming back here for help?_' Elazul thought silently to himself as he stood in front of the door for a few seconds, staring blankly at the closed door, '_I shouldn't keep getting her involved like this, but I don't know who else I should turn to for help..._'

As he slowly raised a fist up to knock on the closed door, when...

"Hey!"

Elazul jumped a few feet in the air at the unexpected sound of someone calling out to him from behind, and spun around to see Bud standing near the pathway that led around to the back of the house.

"What are ___you_ doing ___here_?" Bud demanded as he scowled over at Elazul with a disapproving look on his Elvin features, a medium sized basket laden down with fresh fruits and vegetables of different shapes and sizes was strapped to his back, while he struggled with another one in his arms, "___Don't_ ya have something ___better_ to do than hang around ___here_ all the time?"

"I'm here to see Crystal, brat," Elazul said as he scowled down at Bud once he reached the youth, and came to a stop directly in front of him, and took the second basket out of Bud's hands, "I need her help. Is she home?"

"She's out in the Orchard with Lisa picking fruit," Bud said with a shrug of his shoulders, as he turned his back on the Lazuli Knight and started making his way to the house with his remaining basket of goods.

"Why are you guys in the Orchard this time of the day?" Elazul asked as he followed the younger boy, as the younger boy pushed open the front door and walked inside, dumping the load in a corner next to the staircase, "I half expected the three of you to be inside the house at this time of the day."

"Trent's produced a ___lot_ of fruit and vegetables this morning," Bud said as he turned around to face Elazul once more while dusting off his hands, and pulled off the gloves he was wearing, and hooked them onto his belt, "so we've been busy picking fruit ___all_ afternoon."

"Do you think you guys will be finished soon?" Elazul asked as he dumped his own basket next to Buds, as he turned to face the younger boy, with an anxious look on his face, "Or are you guys going to be doing this until nightfall?"

"You'll have to ask ___Master Crystal_ about that," Bud said, shrugging his shoulders slightly as he turned on his heel and heads for the kitchen for an empty pitcher, which he proceeds to fill with cold water from the pump next to the sink, "I ___only_ came inside to get us some water when you showed up. There's ___still_ a ___lot_ of work to do around here."

"Great..." Elazul muttered under his breath as he walked over to one of the windows and peered out, looking in the direction that he knew the Orchard would be in, before heading for the front door, "just what I need when I'm in a hurry to get on my way!"

"If your going to the Orchard now," Bud was standing off to the side of the kitchen, drinking from a half empty glass of water in his hands while watching the Jumi Knight mope around, and was only able to catch most of what Elazul had said, before the older man started for the door, "could you tell Master Crystal I'll be out with the water in a few minutes, Elazul?"

"Fine, whatever," Elazul said as he unlocked the front door and pulled it open, and immediately started making his way down the path that led around the house towards the Orchards.

"You do know, that you could try helping out in the Orchard." Bud called out as he walked over to the front door and stuck out his head through the door to yell at Elazul's retreating back, "The more help we have the faster you and Crystal could be on your way."

"I'll consider it!" Elazul snapped back without turning around as he continued walking.

* * *

As Elazul made his way into the Orchards, his eyes widen in surprise when he see's about half a dozen baskets filled to the brim with freshly picked fruits and vegetables from Trent's branches piled up on one side of the orchard, while a dozen more were scattered around the enchanted tree.

Crystal was dressed in a pair of black shorts that barely went past her knees, and a plain white t-shirt covered by a long white apron that went all the way down to her ankles, while a pair of worn out brown gloves were covering her hands, and her long blond hair was tied back into a single ponytail, while Lisa was dressed similarly.

Crystal was standing on a ladder reaching for the higher branches to try and grab another Garliccrown that hanging just out of reach on a high hanging branch, while Lisa stood at the bottom of the ladder with a half filled basket that was already laden down with Applesocks, Bellgrapes, Cherry Bombs, and Honey Onions.

As he entered the Orchard, Crystal happened to turn around slightly to toss down another fruit to Lisa, and from what Elazul could see of the apron, he could already was already covered in different juices from the fruits and vegetables they had picked off of Trent.

"You really overdid it this time, Trent. I've never ___seen_ this ___many_ fruits growing on you before," Crystal was saying in a teasing voice, as she dropped another Bellgrape down to Lisa, who had set down her basket and picked up another empty one to catch the falling fruit in, before the older woman turned back to the tree to try and grab a Boar Melon, "I'm going to have to sell what we can't find room for. I ___might_ also need to have to hire Watts to come and build us another storage shed if this keeps up."

"I'm sorry, this was a surprise even to me," Trent said as he helped her out by lowering one of his branches so she could reach the fruit easily, "This crop ___only_ resulted because of ___all_ the ___wonderful_ seeds you've been giving me lately from your travels. Some of them were really good. I'm just glad that they will be put to some good use..."

"I hope so. Well at least my pet monsters will be happy for the extra treats later," Crystal said as she pulled as she pulled off one last Garlicrown and let it fall down to Lisa, and watched as it dropped into the basket below, before she started making her way down the ladder, "There isn't that much left up here, so I think we should call it a day for now, what do you say, Lisa?"

When Crystal started making her way down the ladder, Elazul quickly ducked underneath one of Trent's large low hanging branches, keeping out of sight from the two girls.

"...So do you have a new song yet, Crystal?" Lisa's voice said, breaking into Elazul's train of thought, causing him to turn his gaze back towards the two girls, "with everything that's been going on lately it seems like you haven't had the time to make up one."

"Yeah I've been working on this song for awhile now," Crystal was saying as she smiled down at Lisa, who was standing on a footstool picking the fruits on the lower branches, "I was mad at a ___certain_ Jumi, who shall remain nameless, when I came up with this song. I think it fits him ___perfectly_."

Lisa giggled a bit at Crystal's choice in words, "Has ___he_ heard it yet?"

"Nope, and he probably never will," Crystal said with a laugh as she finally climbed down from the tree, making her way carefully down the step ladder with her arms filled with a few more fruits which she dumped in a few baskets, "Knowing Elazul, he'll probably throw a fit over my choice in words that I used in it."

"Oh can I ___please_ hear it?" Lisa exclaimed as she looked back up at Crystal expectantly as the older girl climbed down from her perch in Trent, and was safely on the ground once more, "I'd ___love_ to hear how it goes."

"I don't know. I'm still working on," Crystal said as a thoughtful look appeared on her features, as she stared down at Lisa for a moment, before glancing around as if searching for something, "so I don't ___think_ it's any good for someone else to hear it yet."

"Oh come on!" Lisa whined pitifully as she tugged on Crystal's shirt for a moment, pulling the older girl over to the base of Trent's body, and got Crystal to sit down, before taking a seat next to her, and looked up at Crystal expectantly, "It ___can't_ be ___that_ bad! Let me hear it first, and then I'll tell you what I think of it."

"I would like to hear your song too, Crystal," Trent rumbled, as his branches gently reached out to lightly nudge her, "I always look forward to hearing one of your songs."

"All right, all right," Crystal said as she let out a loud sigh as she sat down on one of Trent's roots, and leaned back a bit until her back rested against the back of the root she was on, "I know when I'm outnumbered. I don't want to hear any cracks about it when I'm finished, you two..."

Once the duo agreed, Crystal started to sing, her voice seeming to echo through the entire Orchard, the wind carrying the sound of her voice as it reached Elazul's ears from where he was hiding, and left him feeling enthralled as he listened to Crystal's song.

_

Like every tree stands on its own  
Reaching for the sky I stand alone  
I share my world with no one else  
All by myself I stand alone 

_

I know the sound of each rock and stone  
And I embrace what others fear  
You are not to roam in this forgotten place  
Just the likes of me are welcome here

Everything breathes and I know each breath  
For me it means life, for others it's death  
It's perfectly balanced, perfectly planned  
More than enough for this man

Like every tree stands on its own  
Reaching for the sky I stand alone  
I share my world with no one else  
All by myself I stand alone

I've seen your world with these very eyes  
Don't come any closer; don't even try  
I've felt all the pain and heard all the lies  
But in my world there's no compromise

Like every tree stands on its own  
Reaching for the sky I stand alone  
I share my world with no one else  
All by myself I stand alone.

Elazul stood in shock as he listened to Crystal's song, hearing the words echo inside his mind, as he could felt sadness fill him as the song finally came to an end. If he hadn't known better, he'd admit that the song seemed to describe him perfectly. But to hear it being put like ___that_...

'_Am I **really** like that?_' Elazul thought silently to himself as he ducked back behind Trent's branches when Crystal's voice reached his ears once more, and he realized that he had missed most of what the two had been saying to each other.

"...When I first wrote it, I was so angry at him," Crystal was saying to Lisa as she stood back up, and dusted off her clothes for a moment before turning her attention back to Lisa, "but I think that the more I wrote, the less angry I felt..."

As Elazul leaned in closer to hear what Crystal had to say, while at the same time trying to stay out of sight of the two girls, he didn't notice Bud coming down the path, while trying balance a tray that held the pitcher of water and four empty glasses until it was already too late.

**_CRASH!_**

The next thing Elazul knew, something had hit him hard from behind and sent him flying just as something hard landed on his head and completely drenched him from head to toe just before he hit the ground, while glasses shattered as they hit the ground.

Bud landed a few feet away still clutching the tray in his hands, as he stared in wide-eyed shock at the Jumi Knight for a few seconds, before struggling to his feet.

"Oh, ___thanks_ a lot Bud!" Elazul exclaimed angrily as he pushed himself back to his feet, his hands reached up to pluck the pitcher off of his head before it could fall and meet the same fate as the glasses, before turning to glare at the younger boy, "I ___really_ didn't need a ___cold_ bath right now! Why don't you watch where you're going!"

"Hey it's not ___my_ fault! What were ___you_ doing standing in the path like that!" Bud shouted back his eyes narrowing in anger for a moment as whatever apology he was going to offer instantly died on his lips as stubborn look appeared on his features, "I didn't even ___see_ you until after it was ___already_ too late to stop!"

"**_Elazul! Bud!_**"

Before Elazul could come up with a comeback, the words immediately died on his lips when he heard Crystal's voice calling out to them, as the two boys turned around to see both Lisa and Crystal rushing towards them with concerned looks visible on their faces as they came into view.

"Are you two all right?" Crystal exclaimed as she and Lisa came running towards the duo, and she came to a stop a few feet away from them, with her hands on her hips as she surveyed the mess, and narrowed her eyes, "What's going on here!"

"What happened here, you guys?" Lisa asked as she came to a stop next to Crystal and her eyes widened in surprise at the mess on the ground, "Crystal and I heard a loud crash, and come to find the two of you yelling at each other."

"It's not ___my_ fault! ___He's_ all to blame for the mess! All ___I_ was doing," Bud quickly announced before Elazul could say anything, as the young elf pointed at the Jumi accusingly, "was bringing the pitcher of water, when ___he_ stepped out from underneath the branches, and crashed into ___me_."

"Hey it's not ___my_ fault that you're such a ___klutz_," Elazul countered as he glared back at the elf, while wringing out his clothes as best he could, "Just look at me, I'm ___soaked_ to the bone because of ___you_. It's going to take forever to dry off."

"Don't worry about your clothes, Elazul." Crystal said, shaking her head ruefully as she listened to the two males bicker between themselves, "I can fix you up in a jiffy if you want."

"___How_? What do you have that can make me dry quickly," Elazul demanded as he turned his gaze back on Crystal, as an embarrassed flush crept up to his cheeks at being caught spying because of the collision, "I'm in a hurry and can't wait for them to dry in front of a fire if ___that's_ what your suggesting."

"Stop being such a grouch, Elazul. I've got a spell that'll you dry you off in no time flat, After your all dried," Crystal snapped, as she placed her hands on her hips as she gave the knight a suspicious look, looking him over for a second before a slight smirk appeared on her features, "afterwards you can ___then_ explain to me ___exactly_ how ___long_ were you ___hiding_ behind Trent's branches and ___why_ you were doing so."

"Hey, you know something?" Elazul asked suddenly, as a blush appeared in his cheeks as he saw the look Crystal was now directing at him, "I ___just_ remembered something I ___need_ to go do, so I'll come back later once I've done it..."

Before the others could react to what he had just said, Elazul suddenly spun on his heel as quickly as he could and started walking away from the others, only to have Crystal's grab him by the arm and stopped him.

"Hold your Chocobo's, Elazul. You can explain things once we get this done," Crystal said, chuckling a bit as a knowing smirk appeared on her face as she saw how flustered the Jumi was getting, as her suspicions were confirmed as he tried to leave, "And I ___promise_ that this won't ___hurt_ one bit."

"___What_ won't hurt?" Elazul demanded as he eyed Crystal warily, but the older woman didn't answer as she simply stepped back from him and cupped her hands in front of her and suddenly started chanting strange words in an unfamiliar language.

"Ur, sekrdo Mana cbenedc uv vena yht feht," Crystal said, chanting in a language that Elazul had never heard of before, cupping her hands together in front of her as she chanted, "bmayca lusa du so yet du tno drec ihfundro syh."

"What are you..." Elazul started to say, only to stop in mid sentence as he saw what looked to be a small ball of energy start to form in Crystal's hands. As the ball became clearer, he could see what looked like a small blue flame dancing around in the ball while wind blew around inside it.

Crystal suddenly flung out her hands and sent the ball straight at Elazul and it hit him head on, surrounding him from head to toe in a whirlwind of energy as both heated and cold air covered his entire body, spinning him around in every direction for a few moments, before he was finally released from the spell.

Elazul staggered dizzily for a few moments after he was released, grabbing hold of one of Trent's branches to try and steady himself before finally regaining his balance. As soon as he regained his bearings, he glanced down at his body and saw that his clothes and armor were now completely dry without any sign that he'd ___ever_ been wet to begin with. Reaching up to run a hand through his blue hair and brought a few strands forward so he could get a better look, he could already tell that his hair was also completely dry.

"___What_ kind of magic spell was that? And ___what_ was that language you used before?" Elazul asked as he turned towards Crystal as Bud and Lisa moved forward to start gathering up the broken pieces of glasses and put them on the tray, "I've ___never_ heard it before, and the ___only_ part of it that I even understood was the 'Mana' part."

"It's an spell from back home, comes in handy for things like this." Crystal said simply as she watched the twins gather up the broken bits of glass, as she bent down to help out, "As for the language, I wouldn't expect anyone around here to have heard it before. It's my native tongue."

"Crystal's been teaching us how to speak it, Elazul," Lisa said as she turned towards the Jumi Knight, as she held out her hands to him for the water pitcher, "plus there are lot of different kinds of spells that even I've never heard of before now."

"Okay..." Elazul said after a moment of silence as he listened to Crystal's explanation, as he handed over the water pitcher to Lisa, who quickly put the pitcher on the ground next to the tray, as he turned his gaze towards the broken pieces of glass, "I'm ___really_ sorry about your glasses, Crystal. I have some money that I could give you to get new ones."

"Don't worry about it, and keep your money," Crystal said as she waved a dismissive hand at Elazul as she and placed the last pieces of the broken glass on the tray, "I don't need any to replace the glasses, when a simple spell can instantly fix the old ones."

"You know a spell that can fix this?" Elazul asked as he stared at Crystal for a moment, then turned a doubtful eye on the broken pieces of crockery, '_I don't see how. About half of those glasses look like nothing can put them back together again._'

"I just have a spell for everything," Crystal said with a slight shrug of her shoulders as she turned her gaze towards the twins, "Is that all of them, you guys?"

"I think so," Lisa said as she placed the last of the broken pieces that she had gathered and placed them carefully onto the tray with the others, as she looked around for anything they may have missed, "At least that's all of the bigger pieces..."

"We're going to need a broom and dustpan," Bud said as he did the same as his sister, before taking a seat on the ground with his legs folded under him, "to get any of the smaller pieces that we couldn't pick up by hand."

"Guess I'll have to just make do with what we already have," Crystal said with a low sigh as she turned her gaze towards Elazul who was still standing beside her, "You might want to back up a bit, Elazul."

"What are you going to do now?" Elazul asked as he did as she suggested, and took a few steps backwards with the twins.

"I going to use another spell to try and repair the damage you guys did to the glasses," Crystal said as she sat in front of the broken shards, and raised her hands in front of her once again, and started chanting once more.

"Ehveheda Nabyenu!" Crystal cried out as she held out her hands above the broken glasses, as a soft white glow appeared in cupped hands, which quickly spread to the items on the ground, "Nadinh du fryd oui uhla fana!"

Elazul's eyes widened in shock as he watched as the broken pieces of glass started lifting off the ground and reshaping themselves as the mysterious light glowed down on them for a few moments before four brand new glasses stood in place of what used to be broken glass.

"What do you think of ___that_ spell, Elazul? It's another old spell spoken in the language of my people," Crystal said, grinning as she took the tray from Bud and bent down and started loading the newly repaired glasses onto the tray, "It can fix ___any_ broken object and make it as good as new."

"Pretty useful," Elazul said after a moment of silence after listening to Crystal's explanation before a thoughtful look appeared on his features, "But I've seen a lot of spells before, and I don't ___remember_ seeing one like ___that_ one. Or the ___other_ one you used."

"Like I said, their pretty old spells, everyone around here wouldn't know about them, unless they can speak the language I used fluently." Crystal said as she stood up with Elazul help, as she turned to smile at him, as the group started walking out of the Orchard after saying goodbye to Trent, "___Otherwise_ they won't work properly. Maybe I can teach it to you one of these days, that is if you want to learn it?"

"I'll pass. I ___don't_ think I'll have the time," Elazul said as a scowl appeared on his features, as he looked over at Crystal as they walked along the path, "to learn it with everything that going on lately..."

"Suit yourself, but it might come in handy at times," Crystal said, shrugging her shoulders a bit as they turned the corner of the path leading towards the house. "So why have you come over today, Elazul?"

"I can't find Pearl. Have you seen her at all today?" Elazul said, as he remembered the reason why he was at Crystal's place in the first place, "I've ___already_ looked ___everywhere_ that I know, and hoped that she might have come here to see you."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Elazul, but I ___haven't_ seen her all day," Crystal said as a worried look appeared on her face as she stared back at Elazul and saw the worry etched into the knights features, as she started to walk around the room getting the things she usually took with her ready, "I'm done with the chores around here for now, so I can come help you look for her if you want..."

"I'd ___really_ appreciate the help," Elazul said as he nodded his head enthusiastically, as he watched Crystal walk around the first floor gathering her gear.

**_-End Flashback-_**

* * *

"Elazul!"

I was almost near Crystal's statue, when I heard the one voice that I thought I would never hear again just a short while ago.

"Pearl?" I asked surprise filling my voice as I stopped dead in my tracks after hearing the familiar voice, and to turn around to look for the source, disbelief filling me as my ears finally picked up the sounds of voices filling the once silent room.

I barely had enough time to turn around when I found myself tackled by Pearl, who had come running at me at full speed, and launched herself into my waiting arms, as I felt a grateful smile creep to my lips as I stared down at the blonde girl in my arms, "Pearl, you're back!"

"Elazul! You're safe! Thank the goddess." Pearl cried out as she hugged me tightly, and then pulled back slightly just as suddenly, as she stared up at my face, as a bright smile appeared on her features, "Where are we? How did we get here?"

"Of course I'm safe, I wouldn't let someone like the Jewel Hunter get the better of me, and we're in the Bejeweled City..." I said trying to sound indignant as I looked down at Pearl's worried face when I notice the strange look she was now giving me, "What? Why are you looking at me like that Pearl?"

"Elazul?" she asked uncertainly as she continued to stare intently at something on my face.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" I asked. It was at that moment I ___finally_ noticed the wetness running down my face, when she suddenly reached up with a hesitant hand to touch the wet streaks running down my cheeks, and her fingers came away wet.

"Your... ___crying_!" she whispered, the wonder and disbelief evident in her voice, as she stared in shock at the tears as they ran down my face, her voice carried through the small room, "How can you be..."

All of the other Jumi stopped what they were doing to look at us, when they heard Pearl's words, their eyes trained directly on me.

Releasing her, I reached up with my own hand to touch my cheeks, trailing my hand upwards, until they ended just below my eyes, where I could still feel the tears flowing freely from underneath the lids.

"Tears? I don't ___believe_ it," I whispered as I pulled my hand away, to look down at my wet fingers in disbelief, as I turned away from the stares everyone was giving me, "I'm ___actually_ crying..."

"Elazul? How can you be crying?" Pearl asked, the incredulous tone in her voice evident as she continued to stare up at my face with a shocked expression, "___What_ happened while I was gone? ___Why_ are you..."

"I didn't even notice, until you just mentioned it to me." I said as I brought arm sleeve up and wiped futilely at the tears, as I turned my back on Pearl, to glance back at Crystal's petrified body, "Pearl... It's Crystal..."

"Crystal's here?" Pearl exclaimed, surprise filling her voice as she quickly started to look around for the other girl, as she pulled away from me and started to look around me, "Where is she? Why hasn't she come forward and..."

Whatever Pearl was about to say next ended in a loud gasp of horror from behind me, as she finally spotted Crystal's body, and realized what must have happened, but I paid no more attention as I started walking away from her, and back towards Crystal.

As I walk towards Crystal's petrified body, I could hear the low murmurs of the other Jumi grew louder as they all turned to look and see what had caused Pearl to cry out like that, and they all saw Crystal's stone form.

_"Maybe it's just because you guys simply just **forgot** to know how to cry. Maybe you just need something to set it off, Elazul."_

Crystal's voice sounded from somewhere deep in my memories, sounding ___so_ close and ___so_ real, allowing to still hear her voice as if she was still standing right beside him, talking with him like always.

_"Promise me Elazul. Feel something other than your pent up anger. Try and be sad. Force yourself to cry. Try and cry..."_

'_I don't **believe** it. You did the impossible, Crystal._' I thought ruefully as I continued on my way, passing by the many Jumi who parted to let me pass, as they all stared in surprise at the frozen figure of the unknown warrior woman in their midst, '_It looks you got your wish. You made me cry._'

'_For the **first** time in so many years, I'm actually crying **real** tears... And it's all because of **you**._' I thought as I felt a small smile appeared on my lips as I kept walking until I was finally was standing in front of Crystal's body, staring into her blank eyes her familiar smile frozen for all eternity on her face. '_Crystal? Don't go. Don't leave me. Not after everything we've been through..._'

I would never be able to hear her laugh again. Never hear her try to cheer me up when I'm down, never hear her sing again, never have to listen to her...

Just then I noticed something shining at my feet, so I bent down to retrieve what turned out to be the crystallized Teardrop Crystal that Crystal had shed, from where it was on the ground, looking down at it as I held it in my open palm, eyes narrowing in anger, as I clutched the Teardrop Crystal tightly in my hand.

It was Crystal's shedding tears for the Jumi that brought this fate to her, yet it was ___also_ her tears that brought our people back to life. No one should have to die like this, after saving us from extinction.

Someone placed their hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see Ruebens standing behind me with a sad look on his face. Standing behind him was Esmeraldis and Pearl, all with matching expressions that I was sure mirrored my own. Behind them I could see Florina being helped down from her throne by some Jumi as she walked towards us with Diana at her side. Out of the corner of my, I could see Alexandra standing nearby, staying in the shadows away from the others.

Out of all the Jumi gathered there, it was only the ___seven_ of us, along with Alexandra and Diana, who had ___really_ known Crystal. A non-Jumi who helped us in our time of need. Who even despite knowing the dangers, she still helped us. And now she was gone.

"Hey what's going on here?" one of the other Jumi exclaimed, as he stepped forward, confusion filling his voice, "I thought I ___died_ when the Core Hunter attacked me, so how am I back now? Who shed the Teardrop Crystal?"

All of the other Jumi all voiced their own questions and comments, but one question stood out among all of them.

"Who's the human over there? What's she doing here in the first place?"

It didn't' take long for Pearl, Ruebens, Esmeraldis, Diana, Florina and myself to bring out the whole story to the others, telling them everything that had happened since their 'deaths' at the hand of the hunters, with Pearl and myself filling in the gaps about Crystal and how she had helped all of us.

"A ___human_ did all that?" one of the male Jumi, Sappho I think he said his name was, asked, his voice filled with surprise and wonder at the news. "For ___us_?"

"Why?" was the main question that all of the Jumi asked.

"I asked her that myself once a few weeks ago." I said as I took a seat next to Crystal's body, looking up at her frozen features sadly, before turning my tear filled gaze towards my comrades, as he brushed away his tears with the back of his gloved hand, "She said that she wanted to do it, and that it just felt right."

"But she's a ___human_!" one of the Jumi cried out, anger filling his voice with scorn as he spat out the last word, as he glanced around at the other Jumi and saw them nodding their heads in agreement before he continued, "She ___must_ have had ___ulterior_ motives for helping you! No ___human_ has ___ever_ helped ___our_ kind without wanting something in return."

"Will all of you ___shut up_! As hard as it is to believe, this human helped us!" Pearl exclaimed as she rounded on all of the Jumi that were gathered, and startling a few into silence by her sudden outburst, "I've know her ___longer_ than any of you do, and I can you that she ___never_ had ___any_ ulterior motives for helping us!"

"They ___can't_ be trusted!" another one shouted out, adding in his two cents, as anger filled his own voice, "Humans have been hunting us into extinction because of our cores, so what made ___this_ one so different!"

"If it wasn't for ___her_ tears, ___all_ of you wouldn't be here right now." Florina added in from her spot on the throne as some of her handmaidens helped her into a sitting position, "If it wasn't for ___her_ tears, Elazul and I would have been the ___last_ of our race. We owe a debt to this human that may never be repaid."

As Florina and Pearl spoke to the others, I blocked out everything else that was going on around me as I turned away to turn my attention back to Crystal's stone form, and trying to decide what I was going to do now, his hands clutched in anger before sudden pain in his left hand reminded him that he was still holding Crystal's teardrop in it, and slowly released his grip on it just enough to relieve the pain, as he stared down at it with blank eyes.

'_What am I going to tell all of her friends?_' Elazul thought sullenly to himself as he looked away to stare down at Crystal's frozen Teardrop, '_I could just **imagine** how the twins were going to take the news..._'

As my vision became blurry once more as more tears started coming to my eyes, I reached up with my free hand to wipe my with the back on my sleeve, and as I pulled my arm away I stared down at the wet cloth in shock as an idea came to me as I glanced back at Crystal then down at the Teardrop Crystal that I still clutched in my hand.

'_Why **didn't** I think of this **sooner**!_' I thought frantically as I stood up and turned around to face the others once more, and looked around, '_If I'm crying now, then there just might be a chance..._'

It looked like Florina had finally stopped talking awhile ago while I wasn't paying attention, because all of the Jumi were now separated in different groups talking among themselves, as some shot glances over to where Crystal and I were.

Ignoring all of attention I was now getting, I stood up straight and squared my shoulders, as I started making my way to Florina's throne and came to a stop directly in front of it, as I turned back around to face the others once more.

"___Everyone!_ Can everyone ___please_ listen to me for a moment? I have a request to make," I demanded as I spoke as loudly as I could to get everyone's attention directed at me, before I continued, "I have a plan to try and resurrect Crystal, but I ___may_ need all of you to help."

"Why should we even bother to help her?" one of the Jumi asked uncertainly, as she glanced around the room at the others, "It'd be one less human to bother us in the future..."

"Don't let your ___hatred_ of humans cloud your judgment," I demanded as I rounded on the speaker, causing him to cringe away from under my glare as, "against the ___only_ one who risked everything to save us all."

"Why ___should_ we help the likes of her?" the Jumi who had spoken up earlier who had showed his obvious contempt for humans in the way he spoke, "Even if we ___could_ release our tears as ___freely_ as ___you_ can, we should ___only_ use it for emergencies. Who ___knows_ when we'll need it again and shouldn't waste them on a--_ack!_"

Faster than anyone could see, Elazul was suddenly right in front of the other male and was holding the other Jumi pinned to the wall with one hand pressed against the other males throat, cutting off his air supply, with his feet dangling helplessly up off the floor, as the other Jumi's hands frantically grasped at Elazul's hands, trying to pry them off as he found it starting to became harder to breathe, as Elazul's grip tightened for a moment as Elazul glared into the other males eyes with a menacing look in his own.

"She maybe a human, yet her tears were able to bring all of you back," I said as I stared angrily into the eyes of the man I was holding before I finally released him and let him fall to the ground gasping for breath as he clutched at his throat, as I glared down at him, "So I won't stand idly by and listen to anyone to bad mouth her while I'm around! Do I make myself clear?"

"___Perfectly_," The Jumi on the ground gasped out in between attempts drawing in deep breaths of air into his bruised throat as he used one hand to massaged it one hand, while glaring up at Elazul for a moment, as he stood back up while muttering a few curses under his breath.

Ignoring the other knight now, Elazul turned his attention back towards the others, and saw that he now had their full attention on him after his little display. Even the few Jumi who had agreed with the one Elazul had nearly strangled were now staring warily at him.

"Now all I was saying is that if ___her_ tears could bring all of ___you_ guys back from the dead," Elazul Stepping around stopping a few feet away from her before turning back around to look at everyone else with a pleading look in my eyes, "then couldn't ___ours_ bring ___her_ back? We ___have_ to at least ___try_ something before we give her up as a lost cause. We ___owe_ it to her."

A soft murmur could be heard among the Jumi as they talked amongst themselves as they stared from Crystal to Elazul and back again, as they thought about what he had just said.

When my ears caught a small sniffle, I turned back around in time to see Pearl turning away, wiping at her eyes, but not quickly enough, because I could see the tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

"Pearl?"

"I think I can cry a little." Pearl said as she moved to stand beside me, as she gave my left hand a squeeze before letting go.

"I think I can cry a little." Esmeraldis said, as she stepped forward to stand next to Pearl.

I was looking around the room even as I heard Esmeraldis' words leave her mouth, and I could see that almost half of the Jumi gathered were also starting to show signs of tears running down their own cheeks. Even the ones who had been surprised at the thought of a human helping them were also starting to shed tears.

Smiling a bit, I turned back to stare at Crystal's body, when I noticed a faint glow coming from my hand caught my attention, and I opened my palm to find Crystal's tear was now glowing faintly.

'_What **is** this? Why is it **glowing** like this for?_' I wondered to myself as the glow started grow stronger by the moment, as I started to feel a strange warmth start to spread through the Teardrop Crystal and into my own body the longer I held it.

As I stared down at the teardrop, I started to notice what looked like small strands of energy appearing out of thin air and enter the crystal, making the glow become stronger with each passing second. After a quick look around, I saw that it was the tears that the others were shedding that was becoming the energy that was now being absorbed to fuel the teardrop.

As I watched the teardrops glow become brighter by the second, I noticed a loud rumbling sound coming from outside, followed by a huge flash of blue color coming from several windows, just as another flash of blue light lit up the room from outside.

Turning my attention from what was going on, I walked over to one of the windows and peered outside to see that Crystal clouds had started to gather outside, looking as if they were reaching all across of Fa'Diel, as silver rain started to pour down from the heavens, followed by several busts of blue lightning flying shooting across the sky in jagged lines, as a loud rumble of thunder seemed to shake the Bejeweled City.

'_Blue lightning and silver rain?_' I thought to myself as confusion filled me just as another flash of blue lightning lit up the darkened sky with a blue haze filling the clouds, as I glance back down at the Teardrop Crystal, '_What's going on out there?_'

'_Is Crystal's tear reacting to us? And somehow causing the weather to act like this?_' I thought silently to myself as I continued to hold the teardrop in my hands for a moment longer, before I turned my gaze back towards Crystals with a determined look, as my hand tightened into a fist around the teardrop, '_Maybe we can channel the power of our tears through Crystal's teardrop to revive her._'

'_This **has** to work. I'm **not** going to let her go down this way._' Bringing my hands together to cup the teardrop in between them, as I felt the heat from the crystal start to rise, as my own tears joined in with the others, '_Goddess, **please** let her come back to all of us..._'

My thoughts were interrupted as I felt the Teardrop Crystal suddenly get yanked out of my hands by an unseen force, as it seemed to float in the air as it moved towards Crystal's stone form, where it hovered over her head for a few seconds as an strange hum started to come from it, as the glow started becoming brighter with each passing moment.

As I turned back to face the room, which was now completely lit up by the Teardrop Crystal's white glow that quickly became blinding causing everyone to cry out and cover their eyes as the Teardrop Crystal suddenly released a huge flash of light.

**_-End Elazul's POV-_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimers:_** As much as I may _want_ to claim ownership of this production, I can't because **_Legend of Mana_** belongs to a whole lot of different companies that I can't remember the names of at the moment. Any characters that appear in this fic that is not a part of the original series, belong to me so don't take them without asking first.

**_Summary:_** -**_Legend of Mana fanfic_**- What was going through Elazul's mind when Crystal, The Heroine, turned to stone after shedding tear's for the fallen Jumi race?

_"I read somewhere  
that when Jumi cry  
the **entire** world cries with them..."  
**-Lisa talking to Bud -Legend of Mana - The Teardrop Crystal Saga-**_

**_If Tears Could Bring You Back_**  
One Shot  
By: Princess Star Neko

As the lightshow started to die down and his eyesight readjusted to his surroundings, Elazul uncovered his eyes and turned to look back at Crystal, and all it took was one second to see that she was back to normal once more, before he leapt to his feet to just barely manage to reach to her in time as her body started to topple over in a lifeless heap.

Catching her in his arms and cradling her body close to his own protectively, Elazul looked down at her to see her eyes were closed, and fear filled him because for just a moment he thought she might be dead, but as he held her close to his own body, he could feel the slight rise and fall of her chest against mine and let out a sigh of relief as he realized that she was only asleep.

"Your _still_ alive," Elazul whispered softly as he bent his head down to touch her forehead with his own as he felt more tears start to leak out of his eyes as he stared down at her, "Thank the goddess..."

"Elazul!" Ruebens cried out as he rushed forward with Diana and the others behind him, as everyone crowded around us, "Is she..."

"No, she's _still_ alive..." Elazul said as he felt relief fill him as he looked down into Crystal's sleeping face as she rested in his arms, before turning his gaze towards the other Knight, "She's only asleep..."

"That's _good_ to hear," Pearl's voice said as she came to stand next to Elazul and knelt down to peer at Crystal as she lay in Elazul's arms, relief filling her voice as she spoke, "I can't believe it actually worked for her..."

'_I **swear** that if she does this to me **again**,_' Elazul thought angrily to himself as he shifted Crystal's weight in his arms and lay her down on the ground as he stood up, before quickly bending low to scoop the rest of her body up into his arms, and started walking away with her securely in his arms, '_I'll **never** forgive her for as long as I live..._'

"Elazul, just _where_ do you think you are going with her!" Rueben's demanded as he stepped forward to grab his shoulder to stop me, "You _shouldn't_ be moving her around like this."

"Let _go_ of me, and get out of my way! It might be awhile before she finally wakes up," Elazul snapped as he turned around to glare at the other Jumi Knight, causing Ruebens to take several steps backwards when he saw the look on his face, and he forced himself to calm down as he turned back around, "so I'm just taking her to one of the chambers we passed on the way up here so she can rest more comfortably."

"Don't snap my head off, Elazul. I'm just as worried about her as you are you know." Rueben's snapped back as he glare back at me, with narrowed eyes as he slowly backed away from me, "I Just don't think you should be moving her so soon."

"Well I _can't_ let her _stay_ lying here on the floor, now _can_ I?" Elazul countered as he turned back around and continued walking towards the double doors, "I'm going to go find a place that I can lie her down."

"Elazul, let me help," One of the new girls said as she stepped forward, pushing past Ruben's as she came to stand in front of me, "My name is Topaz. I'm a Healer so I can help treat her wounds."

"I'm coming too." Pearl announced as she also came forward, worry filling her eyes as she stared at Crystal's still form in his arms, "I want to help take care of Crystal."

"Fine both of you can come along," Elazul said as he started walking again taking long strides as he carried Crystal in his arms, stopping just long enough for Pearl to rush forward and open the throne room doors for him, before continuing the trek out of the room, with Pearl and Topaz leading the way.

As Elazul followed the two girls through the hallways, they took him into the first room that we came upon, which he quickly recognized as the Diamond Room. Maneuvering Crystal's body as he stepped through the door, while Pearl held open the door for me, Elazul looked around the small room for any place to put her.

"This room is perfect for her to rest in," Topaz said as she walked into the room, and headed straight for the bed, pulling back the sheets as soon as she reached it, and stepped aside to give him room to put Crystal down, "We used to use it for healing the injured in the past."

Elazul quickly moved to the bed and gently place Crystal's body on the bed, being careful not to jostle her or injure her as best as he could, as he lay her head on the pillow that was available.

"She should be fine here This room is one of the ones we usually used for healing," Topaz said as she stepped back and watched as Elazul place Crystal down, as she moved forward to wave a hand over a wall Crystal that was next to the bed, and a beam of light shot down from the ceiling to cover Crystal's body, "All she needs to do is remain underneath the Healing Light for awhile. So all we need to do is let her rest for awhile."

As she looked around the room for a moment with a critical look in her eyes as she spotted the dust and dirt that had appeared since the last time the room had been in use.

"Fine, I'll stay here..." Elazul said as he moved to take a seat next to the bedside, only to be stopped when Topaz grabbed hold of his shoulder to stop him, and he turned his gaze towards her, "What's wrong now?"

"You _can't_ stay here. We need to get Crystal out of her armor so that she can be more comfortable," Topaz said, as she jerked her hand back to pull Elazul away, as she started shooing him towards the door, "_Plus_, you should get some rest too. You already look half dead on your feet."

"I'm _fine_, and I can rest _later_ once I know that Crystal is going to be all right," Elazul said as he pulled away from her and turned to look at the Healer, "I can help with removing the armor if you want me to..."

A sudden flash of light caught Elazul's attention, followed by the sound of a sword being withdrawn from it's scabbard just seconds before he found the cold tip of a sword being pressed to his neck, and his eyes widened in shock as he found himself staring into Black Pearl's cold eyes, as she held her sword to his throat.

"_Black Pearl_! What are you doing!" Elazul demanded as he took an involuntary step backwards to try and avoid getting his throat cut by the swords sharp blade.

"Elazul, get out! The way your acting now," Black Pearl snapped as she pointed her sword at me, eyes narrowed menacingly as stared back, "you're just going to get in the way of what needs to be done for Crystal."

"I _only_ meant that I _could_ help by holding her up while the two of _you_ removed the armor." Elazul exclaimed a bit heatedly, as he stared defiantly as he stared back at Black Pearl as he looked up from the other end of her sword, "I want to help out, Black Pearl. I'm _not_ leaving..."

"You can help out later," Black Pearl said as she took a step forward, forcing Elazul to back up several steps to avoid being skewered by Black Pearl's sword, as the Jumi Knight started sweating a bit but stood his ground firmly towards the other Knight, "I _seriously_ doubt that Crystal's going to be pleased to find out that you were still in the room while we undressed her, Elazul."

"'Undress'?" Elazul asked, confusion appearing on his face as he took another step backwards, as he stared between Black Pearl and Topaz with an uncertain look in his eyes, "Why would you need..."

"I want to check her over for any other injuries she might have, so we may need to remove some of her clothes," Topaz said, as she moved to stand at Elazul's side and started pushing him towards the doorway, "as well as her armor, that's why Black Pearl can help me out more than you can at this point."

"That's why you should leave Crystal to us. Don't worry Elazul. We'll call you if we need your help." Black Pearl said as she lowered her sword from Elazul's neck and sheathed it, as she gave the Lazuli Knight a sympathetic look as she glanced over at Crystal's prone form on the bed, "But right now all you can do is get some rest yourself, you must be tired after fight with the Jewel Hunter, and wouldn't be much help to us if you pass out on us."

"I'm _not_ tired..." Elazul said as he opened his mouth to argue some more, but the only sound to come out of his mouth was a loud yawn, which he quickly covered with the back of his hand.

"You _see_? That yawn _proves_ that you _are_ tired, Elazul. Just _go_ and find an empty room," Black Pearl demanded as she placed her hands on her hips to glower at the other knight, as she started helping Topaz in pushing Elazul towards the door, this time succeeding in pushing out the door and into the corridor outside, "so that you can get some rest for awhile, and we'll send someone to go wake you up when she's awake."

With those words, the bedroom door was slammed shut in Elazul's face before he could say or do anything else, and you could hear the sound of the lock being thrown from the other side of the door.

* * *

"Hey, _wait_ a minute, Black Pearl!" Elazul exclaimed as he found himself bodily pushed out the bedroom door by the other knight, and as he turned back around to come back inside, he had to jump back to avoid getting the door slammed into his face, soon followed by the sound of a lock being thrown on the other side.

Reaching for the doorknob, he jiggled it for a few minutes to see that door really locked, before releasing the knob to glare up at the door while muttering a few choice curse words before turning around on his heel and stormed away.

He walked down the hallway until he came to a stop outside one of the other bedrooms that had a huge blue sapphire hanging from over the doorway, and after checking to make sure no one else was in the room, pushed it open and made his way to the bed that was in one corner of the room.

'_I don't **know** what their talking about. I'm **not** so tired,_' Elazul thought sullenly to himself as he flopped down on the bed after kicking off his boots and his breastplate, as he looked up at the ceiling with a scowl on his face, '_that I **can't** be of help to them. Though I guess it **would** be better that I wasn't in the room when they checked Crystal over..._'

As he stretched a bit, he cringed in pain as a burning sensation spread through the left side of his body under his arms, where he knew a bruise was already starting to form, as he was reminded by of the injuries caused by the battle with Lord of Jewels had caused. As he gingerly touched his left side, he quickly cast a healing spell over the affected area and let out a sigh of relief as the pain died away, just as a loud yawn escaped from his lips.

'_Maybe they're right, about getting some rest. at least just long enough,_' Elazul thought to himself as another yawn escaped from his mouth, as he turning over onto his side, and let his eyes start to drift shut, '_to let myself heal fully from the battle. I'll just stay in here for awhile and go back and check on them..._'

* * *

As soon as Elazul was outside the door, Black Pearl slammed the door shut behind him and locked it behind him, to make sure he didn't try to get back inside the room.

After listening to him rant for a few seconds, she relaxed against the door as soon as she heard Elazul's retreating footsteps echo down the halls.

'_Good._' Black Pearl thought silently to himself as she let out a loud sigh, closing her eyes for a second as she leaned again the closed door, '_I thought he'd **never** leave..._'

Opening her eyes once more, she turned to look towards Topaz and Crystal and saw that the Healer was watching her with what seemed to be a calculating look in her eyes, as she watched the Jumi Lady Knight start to make her way towards her.

"What?" Black Pearl demanded as she saw the look Topaz was giving her now as she made her way back to the bedside, as she stopped to look herself over for a moment but didn't see anything out of the place, "Why are you looking at me like that, Topaz? Do I have something on my face?"

"You seem _different_ from how I remember you, Black Pearl," Topaz said as the other girl walked over, as she looked the Lady Knight over for a moment, "The Black Pearl that _I_ remember would have skewered anyone who didn't _immediately_ obey her orders."

"_Don't_ remind me, Topaz. I just didn't feel like doing it, okay?" Black Pearl snapped as she took a seat in an empty chair next to Topaz, "_Things_ are different now. _I'm_ different now. Why do you ask?"

"You just _surprised_ me, that's all. I _almost_ didn't recognize you," Topaz said simply as she continued her work on Crystal, as she glanced over at the Lady Knight once more with a speculative look on her features, "when you were in 'Pearl' mode, the way you were acting around Elazul..."

"You've been dead a _long_ time, Topaz," Black Pearl said, sighing a bit as she came forward to help the Healer with Crystal, gently slipping her arms around Crystal's body to hold her up, as she helped Topaz remove her upper armor before finally lying Crystal's body back onto the mattress, "So you _don't_ know _anything_ about why I'm acting the way I am now..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Topaz asked as she turned her attention back to examining Crystal a few minutes later, as she tended to Crystal's wounds after the armor was finally off, "We've been friends since before my core was taken, and we could always talk before."

As she helped Topaz remove Crystal's armor and weapons, Black Pearl started speaking, telling Topaz everything that had happened since Topaz's 'death' at the hands of Jewel hunters, up until her own 'death' at Alexandra's hands that had left her core damaged and her transformation into the amnesiac Pearl, leading up to her being found by Elazul and taken in by him.

As she spoke, Black Pearl told Topaz of the things that she had done with Elazul as Pearl, as the two traveled around over the years trying to locate other Jumi's, and then later meeting up with Crystal and the adventures the three of them had gone on together, leading up to Black Pearl's defeat at Alexandra's hands after Crystal and Elazul had left her behind to find Florina and then later waking up in the Bejeweled City.

"I'm _glad_ that Elazul's got someone else to worry about now. At _least_, he might leave me alone now that he's with Crystal." Black Pearl snapped as she crossed her arms across her chest as she glared at the healer for a moment, "Now that I'm back to normal, I don't _need_ him around treating me like I was still _Pearl_. You'd think that you were _jealous_ or something..."

"_I'm **not** jealous!_ I'm glad for him," Black Pearl exclaimed heatedly as she clenched her hands into tight fists as she rounded on Topaz, her face flushed in anger, "At least now I probably won't have him running after me all the time anymore..."

Topaz stared at the woman in silence for a few minutes as she spoke, her eyes taking in the pained look that was evident on Black Pearl's features, as she spoke about how things had been since her core had been taken.

"Don't even try and deny it, B.P., I _saw_ the look on 'Pearls' face, when you saw Elazul crying over Crystal." Topaz said as she waved a finger at the Lady Knight, as a slow smirk appeared on her features, as cocked her head to one side as she stared at the other woman, "You _looked_ like somebody had just taken away your favorite sword and told you that you weren't allowed to fight anymore."

"Why'd I be _jealous_ if Elazul's found someone else to worry about? If anything," Black Pearl said with a slight huff as she turned away, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke, as she forced a happy smile on her face as that she turned on the healer, "I'm _glad_, _really_, because _now_ I won't have him trying to interfere in my life trying to 'protect' me like I was _still_ Pearl."

"If you are so '_glad_', as you put it, that he won't be bothering you anymore," Topaz asked as she arched an eyebrow at the Lady Knight, as a small smirk appeared on her features, "then _why_ did you add the '_really_' at the end of that statement?"

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about," Black Pearl said as a slight blush appeared on Black Pearl's face as she realized her slip, as she turned her back on the healer, "So _what_ if I did? I _didn't_ mean anything by it."

"Come on and admit it already, B.P." Topaz said, chuckling a bit as she saw Pearl's reaction to her statement, and had caught sight of the blush on the other woman's face just before she turned away from her, "You _like_ Elazul, a lot more than your admitting now."

"Okay, I'll admit only one thing, The part of me that's still Pearl" Black Pearl said just as body started to shimmer for a moment, and Pearl soon stood in place of the knight, as a saddened look appeared on her face, "is disappointed about how things turned out. But I saw it coming a _longtime_ ago."

**Author's Note:**  
So how do you guys like my new story so far? There's just one chapter left to this story, but it's not fully completed yet. The first three parts of 'If Tears Could Bring You Back' are parts that I took off of a _much_ bigger single file of the story that I've been writing. Seeing how long it was getting, I decided to split it off into seperate chapters, so it'll be easier for all of you to read in seperate chapters. At last count the full sized complete version of this story is going up to 35 pages.

I'm not going to be able to get back to work on finishing the rest of it until sometime after this upcoming Sunday, beacause I'm headng off to the San Diego Comic Con, later this morning as soon as I get some sleep. So see you guys later. I might also update this chapter a bit when I come back.


End file.
